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Learning at YISLearning changes our thinking and behaviors, enabling us to acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes while providing a catalyst for creativity, critical thinking and independent reasoning.An IB World SchoolEnjoy the unique benefits of an inquiry-centered, transdisciplinary and skills-focused academic continuum from early years through high school.

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Senior Leadership Team

School-Wide

Craig Coutts - Head of School (left)

Craig Coutts joined YIS as Head of School at the start of the 2013-14 school year after working for 12 years in Singapore at United World College of South East Asia, including eight years as primary school principal. He has been involved in international education for more than 20 years, having also worked in Indonesia and the UK. Craig's passion is service in schools. He has been heavily involved in the leadership and development of service projects around Asia and is working with students, staff and others in the community to develop the service program at YIS. Craig is originally from New Zealand, where he studied and qualified as a teacher, and he later completed a Diploma in Management and a Masters in Business Administration through Henley College in the UK. Craig and his wife Angela live in Yokohama with their three children, who attend YIS.

Susie Clifford - Director of Learning (center)

Susie Clifford is the Director of Learning, a school-wide position overseeing academic programs from ELC through high school. She completed her Bachelor of Teaching at the University of South Australia. She has has been teaching for over 20 years and has taught all years from Grade 1 to Grade 12, as well as serving as middle school vice-principal and MYP coordinator. Her passion lies in teaching literature and fostering the love of reading and writing in all students. She has taught in Australia, China and England, joining YIS in 2008. Susie's husband, Alex Thomas, teaches Physical Education in the middle and high school, and their two beautiful sons are in elementary school at YIS.

Bob Pomeroy - Head of Operations (right)

Bob Pomeroy is the Head of Operations. He joined YIS in 2007 after more than 20 years working in public relations and corporate communications in New York and Tokyo, including several years managing Fujitsu Limited’s global PR function at its Tokyo headquarters prior to joining YIS. A U.S. citizen, Bob is fluent in Japanese, holds an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from Colby College and a Masters Degree in Intercultural Education from University of Massachusetts. In 2008 he saw his son walk across the graduation stage at YIS and his daughter do the same in 2014. Bob has been leading the YIS Cambodia Service Activity since 2010, helping to build schools in impoverished rural communities in Cambodia.

Secondary

Elise Vitty - Secondary Principal (center)

Elise Vitty, the Secondary Principal, joins YIS after 11 years in Colombia at Colegio Anglo Colombiano, including 8 years in school leadership. During her time in Colombia Elise had leading roles in CIS re-accreditation and also in the Latin American Heads Conference. Having spent her early childhood in Nigeria, Elise’s career in education began with voluntary placements in India and Mexico and as a humanities and Spanish teacher in the UK and has taught in three IB programs (PYP, MYP and DP). She holds an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Birmingham, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from the Institute of Education at the University of London, and has recently earned her Certificate of International School Leadership from the Principals’ Training Center in Miami.

Mark Redlich is the High School Vice-Principal and IB Diploma Coordinator. He joined YIS in 2010 and as a career international school teacher, and has worked for over 20 years at international schools in Egypt, Thailand and Japan. An English Literature teacher by training, Mark earned a Bachelors Degree (Honors) and Education Degree from Queen's University, Canada and his Masters in Educational Leadership and Curriculum Design from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Mark teaches Theory of Knowledge and English at YIS. Mark's wife, Zoe Page, teaches in the Elementary School.

Rebekah Madrid is the Middle School Vice Principal and MYP Coordinator, where she is privileged to serve YIS students in their middle years. Rebekah is a Third Culture Kid, who attended seven different schools in four different countries and calls London, England and Albuquerque, New Mexico home. She received both her Bachelor of Arts (History) and Masters In Education from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. She is an experienced IBMYP and IBDP Individuals and Societies and Theory of Knowledge teacher, both internationally and in the US. Rebekah came to YIS in 2010 and has served in a number of roles, including In-school Professional Development Coordinator, Team Leader for Individuals and Societies, middle school student council advisor, and, most importantly, as a classroom teacher.

Elementary

Jacqueline Pender - Elementary Principal (left)

Jacqueline Pender, the Elementary Principal, holds dual citizenship of the U.K. and Australia and joined YIS at the start of the 2011-12 school year. Jacquie is an experienced international educator and leader, with her two most recent posts as the Elementary Principal at Bonn International School in Germany and previously as the Elementary Principal at the International School of Manila in the Philippines. Jacquie began her career as an Early Childhood Educator and was a Director of two Early Childhood Centers in Melbourne for ten years. She has served on a number of accreditation and authorization teams in the past, and she holds an undergraduate degree in Education and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Deakin University in Australia.

Shanel Catasti, Elementary Vice-Principal, joined YIS at the start of the 2006-07 school year. She is an experienced international educator, having worked in Australia, Scotland, England, Sweden and Japan. Shanel began her career as an Early Childhood Educator in Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education from Australia and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the USA. Shanel is currently a member of the IB Educators Network (IBEN), conducting consultancy, authorizations, evaluations and workshops in the Asia Pacific region for the Primary Years Program.